


We've got the universe on our side

by vlossoms



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, Eventual Smut, I Don't Even Know, M/M, No band, Slow Build, calum and ashton are roomies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-14 07:28:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11203254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vlossoms/pseuds/vlossoms
Summary: It's Ashton's first year in college, and his first year away from home. He's never been without his mom for any length of time, and he's scared to start now.Calum is happy to spend his first year in college away from him mom, dad and sister. He loves them dearly, but its time to get away.Or, Calum and Ashton's first year in college, as roomies, with a love of music.Title taken from "Ground Control" By All Time Low (ft. Tegan and Sara) from their newest album.





	1. it's just college

Ashton huffs as he climbs out of his parents beat up Chevy and rolls his eyes at his moms voice. "Ash, honey! Don't forget your bag, and your guitar, and your -"

  
"Mom. I'm fine. I've got everything, don't worry." Ashton giggles and pushes his glasses up his nose. He has to remember to order new contacts soon. There is nothing Ashton hates more than wearing his glasses.

  
His mom puts the car in park and climbs out of the vehicle, immediately pulling the small boy into a hug. "I love you, baby, I'm sorry. You'll be fine, you always are." Ashton frowns as he hears his mom sniffle a bit, and squeezes her tighter. "Don't cry mom, you know I'll visit, and so will you, it's going to be great. It's just college."

  
Ashton grins as his mom squeezes him one last time before letting him go, bending over to help carry some of his bags. "Mom, you don't have to, I can carry-"

  
"Nonsense, honey, I want to see where you're staying. Now, where was your dorm?" Anne laughs as she starts walking towards one of the bigger buildings.

  
\-----------------------

  
"Here we are!"

  
Ashton smiles as he looks up, seeing the big sign on the building reading "Brandt Hall." He looks down at his phone and pulls up the note with his room number in it. "It says I'm in room 5C. It must be bigger inside than it looks."

  
Anne laughs and leads the way into the building, her eyes widening as she looks around, spotting an elevator. "Wow, is an elevator really necessary? Isn't climbing stairs good for you young kids anyways."

  
"Mom, I'm on the fifth floor, no one would want to climb that many stairs daily." Ashton rolls his eyes, walking to the elevator and pushing the up button.

  
"Especially not on move-in day," he jokes, climbing onto the elevator when the doors open and pressing the fifth floor. "I wonder if my roomate is in yet. I hope he's friendly. I hope he likes music. Oh god, what if he hates music and I can't play my guitar-" 

Suddenly, Ashton can feel a hand covering his mouth, and he glares at his mother. "What? You were starting to ramble, and I knew it would shut you up. Now stop this nonsense. Even if the boy does hate music, he won't always be there."

  
Climbing out of the elevator when the doors open again, they head down the hallway searching for Ashton's room. They see a room with the door wide open, and an older tan-skinned girl carrying what looks like a bass in. Looking up, Ashton smiles wide as he sees it's 5C, his room.

  
"Did you see that, my roomate plays the bass, oh goodness, how did I get so lucky." Ashton giggles and pushes ahead, turning the corner into the room to see another tan-skinned boy, taking the bass from what Ashton assumes is his sister, and placing it on the stand in the corner.

  
Ashton stops, watching the boy across the room, and thinks to himself that the two look very much alike. Suddenly, he hears the girl snort, and belatedly realizes he must have said that out loud.

  
"Yeah, you did," Shit. Ashton needs to get his mind back in control. "Sorry," he blushes, "I don't normally embarrass myself this quickly." He laughs, pushing his glasses up his nose again.

  
The brown boy smiles and waves, "I'm Calum, and this is my sister Mali. She's pretty good at making people feel uncomfortable. Just ignore her," the boy laughs hearing the indignant, _Hey_! in the background, before bending over to grab something from the floor.

  
"I-I'm Ashton, nice to meet you," Holy shit, Ashton thinks, this boy is drop dead gorgeous, and he's got a nice ass. The sound of his mom clearing her throat from the doorway startles him, and he mumbles, "And this is my mom, Anne Marie."

  
"Hi there, sweety. Ashton, be a dear and take these things so I can go down and get the rest." Ashton nods and grabs his bag from his mom, watching as she walks back down the hallway.

  
Mali looks at Calum and rolls her eyes, "Since you clearly aren't planning on getting your crap out of my car, I'm gonna go get the rest of it. Be right back."  
At the sound of the door sliding shut, Calum looks up and laughs. "Sorry about my sister. Anyways, I hope you like the left side of the room," the boy says with a smirk.

  
\---------------------------------

  
After a tearful goodbye, where Ashton _most certainly did not cry_ , he turns from unpacking his clothes and sees Calum hanging a poster. "Is that Blink 182? I love that band!" Calum jumps, not expecting the boy to talk to him so suddenly. "Yeah, it is. I saw them live a while ago and picked this up. They are really good."

  
Ashton grins, pointing to the bag on his bed. "I've got a few posters in there that I'll hang later. All Time Low, Green Day, Good Charlotte... Just the usual." Shrugging his shoulders, he goes back to folding his clothes. Calum just stares at the boys back, before shaking his head and asking, "Wanna go down to the dining hall and get dinner after this? I have some friends you might like."

  
Nodding his head, the blonde boy smiles. "Yeah, that sounds great, let me just grab my guitar and my cajon. I almost forgot about them."

  
"You play guitar? That's awesome." Calum watches the boy, wide-eyed as he grabs the guitar. "Yeah, I mostly play the drums, but I brought my cajon with since I can't really bring my whole kit, and I just fool around on the guitar. It's just for fun."

  
The brown boy smiles, "That's really cool. I picked up playing bass because I was never really good at playing guitar. I love playing bass. It's my favorite thing to do now."  
"Anyways, we should get going soon. You're going to love Michael and Luke." Calum smirks before walking into the shared bathroom. "We will leave here in about 20 minutes, so be ready."

 


	2. naked shenanigans

Ashton huffs as he is dragged down the sidewalk, tripping over his own feet as Calum rushes them towards the dining hall. “Come on Ashton, we're gonna be late because you just had to call your mom. Michael and Luke are gonna be so pissed..”

“Well shit, I didn’t realize I was putting such a strain on time by being a good son! You didn’t even say goodbye to your sister!”

Calum rolls his eyes and yanks open the door to the dining hall, frantically searching for the two boys. “Do you see a boy with blue hair anywhere? And a ridiculously tall blonde boy?”  
Ashton laughs, joining the brown boy in the search, and when he spots who he assumes is the tall blonde, he points. “There, is that them?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Calum leads the way towards the table and Ashton has to fight with himself to not stare at the younger boys ass as his hips sway while he walks. If Ashton didn’t know any better, he would think the other boy was doing it on purpose.

“Michael, Luke! Stop making out and say hi to my roommate. His name is Ashton, I really think you’ll like him.” Calum pulls Ashton into the seat next to him and laughs as he starts to pry the taller blonde away from the blue haired boy he assumes is Michael.

“Hi there, I’m Luke, it’s nice to meet you. Sorry you had to see us like that.” Luke holds out his hands with red cheeks, and looks at Michael who is trying to steal some of his fries. “No, Michael those are mine! Why do you do this every time.. This isn’t fair.” The younger boy whines as Michael continues to steal his food.

“Hey, I’m Michael, sorry about this loser.” Michael laughs as he dodges Luke's hands as he tries to tickle the older boy. Ashton giggles, and waves at them.

Leaning over to whisper in Calum’s ear, Ashton smiles, “I think I really like them so far. Thanks for showing me around.”

“No problem. You’re gonna love it here, don’t worry.” Calum grins back at the curly haired boy, before joining Michael in the ‘let’s tickle Luke game.’

Ashton laughs as he watches the three boys, hoping there’s enough space for him in their lives.

* * *

 

  
“What the fuck?” is first thing Ashton hears after he stupidly admits he doesn’t like FIFA. Both Michael and Luke are looking at him like he’s suddenly sprouted another leg from his forehead and Calum is just shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, I’m just not very good at it, well, at most video games, and I never got into it! Why is it that important anyways?” Ashton pouts as he fixes his glasses on his face for what feels like the twentieth time.

“Why is it not important? I can’t even deal with you right now.” Michael rolls his eyes and sprawls out across the sofa in Calum and Ashtons' shared dorm. “Why do you always look so uncomfortable with your glasses on? You’re always pushing them around.”

Ashton blushes and finds himself looking at Calum, who is currently destroying Luke in a game of FIFA. “I usually wear contacts is all, I just haven’t had the time to order more, so I have to wear these to see. I hate my glasses.”

Calum turns to look at Ashton, trying to imagine what he would look like without his glasses. He thinks the boy looks cute with his curls and round tortoise shell frames.

Wait, what?

Calum looks back at the game, as Luke suddenly whoops as he scores another goal, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the thoughts of the older boy being cute.

Ashton, unaware of the thoughts bouncing around in the brown boys head, laughs as he watches Calum tackle Luke to the floor and wrestle the controller away from him.

“Stop cheating Calum! You’re always such a sore loser, get off-“ Luke squeals and flails, trying in vain to knock the older boy off of him.

Suddenly Michael is yelling when he is pulled down into the pile of squirming boys on the floor. “What did I do to deserve this? I was just sitting on the couch with Ashton. Why aren’t you wrestling him, too?!”

Ashton finds himself staring and his breath hitches as Calum's shirt rides up a little, and he can suddenly see the smooth expanse of the brown boys back. God, the older boy thinks to himself, it’s not fair how attractive this boy is.

Ashton is truly on his way to completely and officially fucked.

* * *

 

  
Finding himself face first on his bed, fresh out of the shower with just a towel around his waist, Ashton definitely does not expect Calum to be entering their room so early.

In fact, the younger boy was meant to be out of the room until much later in the night, as he said he wanted to check out a few bars with Michael.

So, why is it when Ashton is in an extremely vulnerable position, the brown skinned boy decides to come back?

Because fuck you, Ashton’s brain tells him. Because you have a crush on the boy.

Ashton groans, his face still smushed in his comforter. Calum, having not seen the older boy yet, wanders into their shared bathroom to brush his teeth. “What are you bitching about in there?”

“Oh nothing, just the casual, yet shitty, state of affairs my life is in.” Comes Ashton’s muffled reply.

Calum cackles as he finally pokes his head around the corner and sees the older boy tipped over on his bed, and let’s his eyes roam the other boys body.

No, bad boy. You shouldn’t take advantage of the fact he doesn’t know you're looking, the rational part of Calum’s brain says. The other half, though, tells him to take it all in, considering he won’t get to see it often.

Out of nowhere, there is a quick, loud knock on the door and Ashton jerks upright, jumping to his feet. Unfortunately, the curly haired lad seems to have forgotten he is only in a towel until it’s too late.

Once Ashton is stood upright, his towel loosens from around his waist and hits the floor.

Calum’s eyes widen from the doorway and he chokes on his tooth brush, before rushing back into the bathroom and slamming the door. “Ashton, your, uh, towel fell. Just in case you didn’t know.”

Ashton has never been so embarrassed in his life. He feels like he is blushing all the way to his toes, as he reaches down to secure the towel back around his waist.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, shit, that wasn’t supposed to happen, I didn’t think-“ Ashton gets cut off as another sharp knock to the door sounds.

“Hey assholes, we know you are in there, we can hear you talking. Open the damn door.”

Ashton can practically hear Michael's eye roll in his voice, and stumbles towards the door, unlocking, (thank god he had the mindset to lock it) and yanking it open in one pull.

“You alright buddy? You’re looking a little frazzled there.” Michael teases as he pulls Luke into the room, kicking the door shut. “Where’s Calum?”

“Uh, he’s uh, in the bathroom. Wait, what are you guys doing here , I thought you were meant to be bar hopping?”

“Well, we were but then Calum started acting shady about wanting to get home, and we wanted to make sure he had actually gotten here. Last time he left us, he ended up at a Subway, ten miles out of town.” Luke laughs as he remembers struggling to find the tan boy.

“Shit, yeah I remember that. We almost filed a missing persons report!” Michael giggles and wraps his arms around Luke, pressing kisses to the taller boy's shoulders.

Suddenly Calum emerges from the bathroom, still slightly red cheeked from what he saw earlier. “I’m here, I just really had to pee. We can head out again if you want?”

Ashton stares at Calum as he tries to figure out what the younger boy is thinking about. He gives up shortly after remembering he, unfortunately, can’t read minds.

“Well either way, I’m gonna get some sleep now, so I’ll see you guys tomorrow for breakfast yeah?” Ashton asks as he pulls on a loose and worn pair of sweat pants before pulling the covers off his bed.

“Yeah, okay, get some sleep Ash, we will meet in the dining hall in the morning.” Luke pulls the oldest boy into a hug before dragging Michael out of the room.

“Have fun, bro. But not too much fun. Don’t wanna start off the year hungover.” Ashton teases as he climbs into bed.

Calum laughs and miss, “I won’t, mom. Enjoy the peace and quiet.”

After Calum leaves and the room is finally silent, only then does Ashton let himself process what the fuck just happened.

Calum saw his naked ass. Calum saw him naked. And he ran and hid in the bathroom.

And the tan boy was blushing the whole time. Not to mention that part of Ashton secretly enjoyed knowing Calum was flustered over seeing his body.

Now there is a thought Ashton doesn’t want to allow to exist. He doesn’t understand why knowing someone was staring at him naked was a turn on. All he knows is, Calum is going to be the death of him.

God, Ashton is truly fucked here.

 


	3. let's have a party

The first thing Ashton hears when he wakes up the following Monday is what sounds like muffled moans. At first he doesn’t quite understand why he would be hearing these noises. Or why Calum would be making them at 5 a.m. of all times.

Grabbing his pillow and folding it over his head, Ashton tries his hardest to ignore the noises. Covering his ears unfortunately doesn’t help, because now not only can he still hear Calum’s breathless whimpers and moans, his stupid brain is filling in the mental image as well.

Ashton groans, trying to ignore the fact that his dick has decided it’s a proper time to make an appearance. _What a lovely way for my day to begin_ , he thinks. The next thing Ashton hears is what appears to be Calum finishing himself off, because he hears one last moan, and then the sound of the shower turning off.

“Thank God,” Ashton finds himself saying. Ashton stumbles out of bed, throws on a pair of sweatpants, _most definitely_ ignoring the hard on he is now sporting, and decides he definitely needs some coffee if he wants to pretend that little episode never happened.

As the curly haired boy passes the bathroom, Calum must think it’s the perfect time to exit, because the next thing Ashton knows he’s pressed against a muscular, and still wet, Calum. 

The younger boy has a firm grip on Ashton's arms to keep the boy from falling over, and he gives a gentle squeeze. “Sorry about that,” Calum mumbles, with a slight blush tinting his cheeks. “Its no problem, it sounded like you had an amazing shower though.”

Ashton smirks as he watches the younger boy’s cheeks turn a dark red color, and pats him on the shoulder. Ha, round one goes to Ashton. “Maybe next time you should be more quiet.” Ashton teases before leaving a stuttering Calum behind in the hallway. Make that both rounds one and two.

Good job, buddy.

The older boy cant help but think that he hopes Calum doesn’t get quieter, as he heads to the coffee shop near their dorm.

 _Bad_ Ashton, _don’t think about your friends like that_!

At least his mind knows listening to your roommate jerk off is a staple of a bad friendship. Now if only he could get his dick on the same page.

\-----------------

**_Calum's POV_ **

Calum really shouldn’t be doing this, especially in the shower, because he knows Ashton is sleeping right on the other side of the bathroom wall, yet he can’t seem to stop himself as he wraps a slick hand around his cock. The tan boy doesn’t even know why he’s so horny, all he does know is that he hasn’t gotten laid in weeks, and he shares a dorm with the modern day equivalent of a Greek god.

 _It’s not fair_ , Calum thinks as he bites back a moan, one of many to come. Fisting his cock quickly as the water drips down his body, the boy is completely unaware that the older boy is listening on just the other side of the wall. Calum knows when he gets close, he gets louder, and he also knows he can’t control himself at that point.

Even so, he doesn’t stop himself, only covers his mouth with his free hand and bites down on his fist as he works his leaking dick, knowing he’s so close to finishing. The tan boy has been desperately trying to avoid thinking about his roommate in any situation other than as a roommate, but now, seconds before he comes, Ashton is all the younger can think of.

He thinks back to when he scared Ashton and the boy dropped his towel and Calum got a full view of Ashton's very lovely backside. Calum comes to the idea of slapping that perfect ass until it turns red, the older boys name rolling off his tongue.

 _I hope Ashton is a heavy sleeper_ , Calum thinks as he climbs out of the shower and dries himself off with his towel. The boy should know luck isn’t on his side, it never was, though, because as he steps out of the bathroom, he suddenly collides smack into his own walking fantasy.

Thankfully, Calum’s body reacts faster than his brain, and grips the older boys shoulders to keep him from falling over. Calum knows he is blushing, and apparently so does Ashton, who also seems to have heard the whole thing, because the boy proceeds to tease Calum mercilessly about being quieter.

\----------------

As Ashton leaves to get coffee and head to his first class of the day, Calum cant help but think that maybe he should be a little louder, and a bit more obvious. He likes it when the older boy knows he’s pleasing himself. Now there is a thought Calum never thought he would think.

The younger boy pulls on some plain black skinnies and a black tank before following in Ashton's footsteps and heading to his first class. Hopefully that’s the worst thing that will happen to Calum today, only having to deal with hurt pride. As long as Michael doesn’t find out, he knows he’s safe.

Calum is so used to being the last one back to their dorm, that he doesn’t think anything of it when their door is unlocked, he just walks right in as normal. And then, as Calum heads to his room, he hears the telltale signs that Ashton is masturbating, he knows those sounds well. Hell, he was making them earlier.

Calum just sighs and grabs his book before heading back down the hall and out the door, pulling it closed right before he gets to hear the older boy cum with a whimper of the tan boys name. Calum has to stop himself from being upset he didn’t get to see or hear anything, but it was for the best he didn’t.

He tries to force himself not to imagine Ashton spread out across his bed, hand gripping himself tightly as he- Alright, his brain chimes in, we are gonna kill that thought before it gets too intense.

Calum couldn’t be more thankful that he got the better brain than his sister.

\-----------------

Calum can’t help but think his luck has run out, because now, every time he comes back from his last class of the day, he can hear the sounds of Ashton jerking off. If he was a bit smarter, he would realize that maybe Ashton was doing it on purpose.

But, Calum doesn’t want to entertain that thought, lest he decide to act on it.

The younger boy tries his best to look indifferent as Ashton comes out of his room and sits next to him on the couch, with flushed cheeks, blown pupils and messy hair. Calum has to resist the urge to drool.

“Hey man, how was class today?” Ashton questions.

“It uh, it was good. Kinda boring. Professor didn’t show up to my intro to psych class, so we all went out to get coffee.” Calum hears the older boy grunt in reply and tries to focus all of his energy to the film he put on the television to distract him from the boy’s breathless whimpers.

Stop it, Calum’s brain tells him. He’s your friend.

Suddenly his phone is ringing loudly, and Calum jerks before reaching to answer it without checking to see who was calling.

The first thing he hears is the sound of Michael screaming in the background before Luke's voice comes through. “Hey! Do you and Ashton wanna check out the new club that just opened down the road? It’s supposed to be amazing!”

Calum glances over at the older boy, who is staring wide eyed at the phone, from which he can still hear Michael yelling. “Didya hear that? Luke wants to go to a new club tonight. Apparently it just opened.”

Ashton gets excited and nods. “Yeah, that sounds great, what time?” Calum asked and Luke lets him know he’d be there to pick them up at nine pm before hanging up the phone.

Calum turns to Ashton and grins. “Well I guess we are going out tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy neck it's been too long since I updated this and I'm so freaking sorry
> 
>  
> 
> life has been a mess. gonna try and get up chapter 4 tomorrow though! thank you all for the patience


	4. take me home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the writers block has been hitting me so hard lately, im so sorry guys.
> 
> next chapter will be the smut! can't wait for you guys to read it.
> 
> i love you all

True to his word, Luke actually manages to get him and Michael to their dorm only a few minutes past nine. Ashton quickly tugs on his sneakers and pushes past the two boys outside the door so Calum can lock up.

  
"You ready to get _FUCKED UP_?" Michael all but screams in their ears.

  
They haven't even made it out of the building and Michael is already yelling. "Michael, stop yelling," Ashton sighs, knowing it's going to be a long night.

  
The boy rolls his eyes before throwing himself bodily at Luke, who barely manages to hold himself upright. As the tall boy leads the way towards the club, Ashton looks over at the brown-skinned boy and sees him playing with his phone.

  
Nudging him, Ashton asks, "You alright buddy? Awfully quiet over there today."

  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, just starting to notice how thin the walls are, though." Calum says with a wink in Ashton's direction. The curly haired boy immediately flushes down his neck, staring down at his feet.

"Oh, well, that sucks. Never really noticed it myself." Ashton mumbles.

  
Calum turns towards the boy to tell him it was alright, that he liked hearing him, when he realizes they've arrived at the club. He decides the subject can be brought up again at another time, before grabbing Ashton's hand and leading him through the doors behind Michael and Luke.

  
Ashton blushes at the feel of the younger's hand holding his, and he knows it's just so they don't get separated, but he can't help but let his mind wander.

  
The sound of heavy bass and loud music and the smell of sweaty bodies and spilled alcohol assaults them as they push past people making out against the walls. Heading straight for the bar, Michael orders all of them a round of shots, and Ashton just knows he will be regretting this in the morning.

  
Watching as Calum tosses back the shot, Ashton follows suit, wincing at the bitter taste. He orders himself a beer, and takes a seat at the bar while watching the people dance and grind on each other.

  
Michael and Luke down two more shots each, and in the back of his mind, Ashton knows he has to stay somewhat sober to get them all home. The two head off to the dance floor, no doubt to grind on each other, and eventually find a hole in the wall to make out.

  
"Why did they even bring us if all they wanted to do was make out?" Ashton grumps to Calum. He knows he's whining, and he doesn't care. He could be studying for Christ's sake. Or thinking about the tan boy next to him.

  
"Who cares, let's just go out and have a good time!" Calum yells back over the booming bass. He quickly downs his beer before heading towards the dance floor. He turns back quickly and reaches out a hand to Ashton.

  
"Care to join me?"

  
\---------------

  
Ashton can admit when he's had a bit too much to drink, and this may be one of those times.

  
So much for staying sober to help your friends get home, he thinks. Oh well.

  
The oldest isn't currently thinking about his other friends as a cute boy with a nice ass grinds on him on the dance floor. All he is thinking about is getting this boy's name and maybe taking him home.

  
He wonders where Calum is, and if the younger boy will loan Ashton his key to the dorm. Probably not, Ashton sulks.

  
Gripping onto the hips in front of him with one hand, and holding his drink in the other, Ashton lets himself get lost in the rhythm of the music.

  
Until suddenly, the boy in front of him is gone and Ashton doesn't even have time to complain before he is being pulled away and pressed against the wall.

  
"What the-" he starts, before being cut off by a tongue in his mouth. Which okay, rude, not exactly the way to initiate kissing, but alright, we can work with it. It is a skilled tongue after all.

  
Ashton is drunk, but he surely isn't drunk enough to not realize that the mouth on his belongs to his roommate. And at first, he thinks about pulling away, because even though he has wanted this for months, he wants to be sober.

  
"Calum, what are you doing?" Ashton doesn't want to stop, so why is his brain making him do it?

  
"Fuck, I've wanted you since the first time I saw you. And when you dropped your towel that day, it was all I had to not bend you over the table and fuck you then. And now with the noises... Damnit, Ash, I want you." Calum wraps his hands around Ashtons neck and pulls him close, pressing kisses to his lips.   
"Please say you want this, I need you to want this." The younger boy whispers against Ashton's lips.

  
"I do, I want this Calum, let's get out of here. Take me home."


End file.
